


Untitled (Mal/Kaylee melodrama)

by rsadelle



Category: Firefly
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-12-30
Updated: 2007-12-30
Packaged: 2017-10-28 14:51:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/309027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rsadelle/pseuds/rsadelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>River didn't move. "If you die, she will too. Simon will watch over her."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Untitled (Mal/Kaylee melodrama)

**Author's Note:**

> This bit is a variation on a theme. This is the one that's mostly melodrama. If you like the concept but not the execution, I can recommend Tara O'Shea's "[Lex Talionis](http://silverlake.imjustsayin.net/tara-lextalionis.html)", even though it's Simon/Kaylee and not Mal/Kaylee.

"Zoe?"

"I've never known you to be a coward, sir."

She always had been good at leaving it up to him to interpret what she said.

"We're going," he said. He pointed at River. "You're staying here. I'm counting on you to protect Kaylee while we're gone."

River didn't move. "If you die, she will too. Simon will watch over her."

***

Mal headed straight for a shower. If it had been Zoe or Jayne lying in his infirmary, or even River, he would have gone to them with the blood still on his hands. But it was Kaylee, and she loved all manner of pretty things.

He put on clean clothes after his shower, and carefully combed his hair.

He made sure Zoe was in charge of actual ship operations first and went to the infirmary second.

He leaned against the doorway and watched, unnoticed, for a moment.

"Kaylee, you need this medicine." Simon sounded like he'd said this before.

"Simon's only trying to help." Inara, of course, had more patience.

"No!" Kaylee shied away from Simon's touch. "No more."

"Now you just listen to the doctor," Mal said from the doorway. "He knows what's best."

All three of them looked up when he spoke. Inara stepped back, away from Kaylee. Simon froze. Kaylee smiled at him, and her joy at seeing him seemed to light her up from the inside.

"Hey, Cap'n."

"Hey, darlin'." Mal came into the room and took Inara's place at Kaylee's side. He slipped his hand into hers, and held it while Simon pressed the needle into her arm.

"All done." Simon dropped the needle into a bin and stripped off his gloves to follow it. Neither Mal nor Kaylee even looked up when he left the room.

"How are you feeling?" Mal asked, bringing one hadn up to brush her hair back.

"Better." Kaylee curled their joined hands up to her chest.

Mal bent over their hands and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. "They'll never hurt you again."

Kaylee sighed deeply and turned her head to lean it against Mal's arm. "I'm sorry I wandered off."

"If you do it again I'll kill you myself." Mal pushed Kaylee up enough so that he could sit on the bed behind her, and then pulled her back against him. "But I should have protected you anyway."

Kaylee nestled back against him. "You came to get me."

Mal wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "I did."

"Will you always come to get me?"

"Nothing in the verse could stop me."


End file.
